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N. PETERS, PHOTO-UTHO-GRAPNER, WASHINGTON. Dv C.

@uitrit tats stent @time NATHAN H. SPAFFORD, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

Letters Patent. No. 61,480, datedv January 22, 1867.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONGERN:

Be it known that I, NATHAN H. SPAFFGRD, of `Baltimore, inthe county of Baltimore, and State ofV Maryland, have invented a new and useful Machine forCombing and ssorting Bristles; and I do hereby declare thel'ollowing to'be a full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making part of this specification. l

Figure 1 is a plan or top view of my invention.

Figures 2 and 3 are elevations of opposite sild'es of the machine;

Figure 4 is a vertical section on the line X X of iig. 1. y

Figure 5 is a wei-tical section and elevation on the line XI XI of iig. 1.

Figures 6, 7, and 8 show parts in detail, to bc more particularly referred to hereafter.

In all the figures, like parts are indicated by the s amc letters of reference.

The nature of my invention consists lin so constructing 'and combining together. the parts of my machine, thatV any -fibrous matter subjected to its operation, as straw, grass, hair, wool, bristles, Src., that may be in` tangled, matted, or confused mass, can be quickly and easily brought to a condition of regularity and uniformity, insuring parallelism of all the bres, without risk of injury, while all foreign matter, or oal, from the material itself will be excluded, and nothing will remain but that which is desired'. It'is notrcontemplated that necessity will very soon exist for the use of the machine in treating any other material than bristles, and accordingly that article will be referred to in this specification as the object-matter of the invention.

A A AA is/the framework of my machine; is a shaft supported in bearings on the frame A, and receives motion from any source deemed most expedient, being made torevolve in the direction indicated by the arrow. Other arrows indicate the direction of motion in other parts of the machine. On the shaft B isset a spur-gear, C, by which, through the spur-gears C', C, and D, the other parts of the machine are operated. Two endless aprons E and E', seen in section, iig. 4, travel upon rollers having their bearings in the standards a a. The upper apron E, which is the one upon whichl the irregular and tangled mass of bristles is fed to the machine, has a continuous motion which is derived indirectly from the spur-gear'D, through'vthe pinions b', shaft F, and pinion b, which last drives the spur-gear G on the shaft c a 'band or cord from the shaft c to a pulley, @Lion one of the apron-rollers, causes it to revolve. The shaft F revolves much more rapidly than thc rollers carrying the apron E, and carries a cylinder, equal in length to thewidth of the apron, which cylinder is furnished with teeth or pins, so as to form a picker or hatchel F', and act as such upon the tangled mass of bristles which has been fed upon the apron lE. A roller, c, of gum or other suitable material, rests on the apron E, over its drivingroller, and serves to keep the bristles from being'swept down before they have been prop erly acted on by the picker. The endless apron E', which is under the apron E, has an intermittentmovement, which lasts, say, during one-eighth of a revolution of the main driving-shaft B, and which is derived from'an arm, f, seen dotted in figs. 1 and 2, which projects from the face of the spur-gear D, and comes in contact once, in every revolution of the gear, with teeth or pins,f, projecting radially from the end of the axle Aof a roller of the apron E. A gumroller, e', rests over the apron E', for the same purpose as the roller e over the apron E; and these two rollers, e and e, have a slight vertical play in theirbearings, ,so/that they may accommodate themselves to inequalities in the materials which ma ass under them, and are ke t down to a ro er de ree ofi ressure unon the bristlesv Y P P P P g P r by means of weights or anequivalent device. The'gum-rollcr e is gearedat one end with the driving-roller of thelapron E', so that the two shall revolvetogether in the Sametime' and at the same rate. On the same shaft with the spur-gear C, and revolving with it, is a segment-toothed wheel, H, having teeth for only two-thirds of its periphery. The wheellH drives the shaft g by means of the-pinion h, and causes the shaft to make two revolutions while the main driving-shaft B makes two-thirds of' a revolution; during the other third of the rotating of the shaftvB, the shaft g is at rest, being kept from turning by the dog A ,which catches ina notched tumbler i', onthe shaft g, and is kept in the notch by aspring or equivalent until just before the teeth of the segment have again engaged with those of the pinion Zt, when a cam, H,(see in dotted lines, iig. 2,)operates on the trigger of the d'og z' so as to leave the shaft g free to turn 'at the proper time. The shaft g has a crank at that end which i's opposite to the pinion 7L the crank=arm or wrist I of the crank passing through and turning ii1 the arm of the comb J. From the arm of the comb vprojects a stem, J', which passes through and traverses in a slide free to vibrate upon a joint at K, the joint being rendered adjustable by means of a slot and set-screw,

as seen in iig. 1. The comb J, seen in figs. 3, 4, and 5, has-a gauge, 7c, attached to it in such a manner that the teeth of thecomb may be cleared of anything that may adhere-'tro orbetween them or tend to clog er choke them. Through the ends of thecomb-plate or stock in which the teeth are secured, pass the arms k of the gauge 7c, which is attached to the arms and rests close upon the teeth of the comb. The lower edge-of the gauge Z: has notches out in it corresponding in number and size with the teeth of the comb; the edge is thenturned. iri so that thc teeth will pass through the notches in the gauge. A `spring, Zsecuted to the centre of the comb-stock, and pressing against studs at the ends of the gauge k, keeps-thc gauge l: always up towards the stock of the comb;l until the arms k' are forced down through the ends of the stock, by coming in contact with the cams m m on the shaft g, and crank-wristI, as these revolve, when the 'gauge c is forced towards the ends ofthe comb-teeth,

and clears them of what'evcr may have been between them. Projecting fromthe inner face o'f the spur-gear D' is a stud, n, (seenin dotted lines in fig. 2,)which, as thel gear revolves, comes' in contact with andvmoves Vthe toe n' on the rock-shaft L, which has its bearings in' the standards a ayand gives vibration -vertically to the lower gange-plateM, with which it is connected by arms, (see fig. 4.) The -crank-wristI and tlie'stud n are so related to each other and to the segment-gear H, that when the comb-teeth are brought down immediately in front of the endless apron E', after making themovement twice without stopping, the lower gauge-plate M is brought up by the vibration of the rock-shaft L, so that its upper edge shall be against the under side of the bristlesjnst combed out straight, and thefgaugc k isgon the top of the bristles, which are thus projecting between .the two gauges, and are divided in small quantities by the teeth of the comb, which pass down through them. This position of the comb J and gauges M c is maintained while the toothless part of the segmentH is passing without driving the pinion h. Supported ona portion of the framework are the slides NN, along which traverses the bed-.plate N' of the nipper-jaws O. This' sliding movement is effected by means .of acranlt-pin on the end'of themain driving-shaft B, which .plays in a curved slot in'the lever O',I having its fulcrum at 27,A and passing up into and through the bed-plate N'. The nipper-jaws O are as wide at the mouth as the endless aprons, and are intended to embrace the whole lof the bristles which may bepresented to them by the action off the com b'J and gangelplate M. They are hinged together ato, and are prolonged in the opposite `direction from their lips into levers O" O", connected at 'their extremities by links,vg q, that forni a toggle-joint, the pin` g' of which projects on each side so as to rest in. slots .through the standards r r, which support the d irect moving devices'of the jaws. The oiiice of the toggle-jointV q .is to insure uniformity in the movementsjof both jaws 0. The lip ofthe upper jaw is .provided with an elastic yielding material forming a cushion Aagainst which the bristles'may not be broken or-e`ven bruised when seized with force enough to drag them from between the apron E and the roller e'. A portion of each end 'of each jaw is extended beyond the axis o onwhich they move, so as to form levers, which are kept apart by loop-shaped springs e s, (figs. 1 and 3,) thus forcing the lips of the jaws together, when vthey are not overcome by the devices for opening them. YSupported on standards rising from the bed-plate, N is a shaft, P,carrying at one end a windlass, P', and at the other end a tumbler, i, while on that portion which is between the levers O" 0" is a, cam, R, so constructed as to cause the jaws to open when turned between thcirlevers '0 y0"r On-the shaftB is a toc-cam, Q, by which vibration is given to the lever Q'. To the end of this lever is attached one'end of a chain, which is Isecured by its other end to thc windlass'P. From the windlass anotherrchain .extends in an opposite direction to a standard rising from one of the slides N, to which it is irmly'secured. As the crank-pin on the shaft B (see fie'. 4) turns in the slot in the lever O', the headof the levei` moves the bed-plate and the jaws 0 back from the comb J'. Tension is produced in the chain from the lever vQ to the windlass P', causing this last-to turn, and with it the cam R, so that its pressure against the inner surfaces ofthetwo levers O OI", causes them to open, as seen in section, iig. 4. As the shaft P, by the action of the chain on the windlass P', continues to revolve, the 'tumbler t,

lengaging with the slottedconnecting-bar t', causes, byits action on the shaft t", the double-dog u u to engage in such a manner with the two levers O" 0" as to kee them o en after the have been relieved from the action P PA Y of thecam R, until it shall have bccomeneeessary to close the jaws again. .As the rotation of the shaft B continues, the bed-plate N' is brought forward towards the comb again; and the chain from the .lever Q' tothe windlass is loosened, and motion is given in a contrary direction to the windlass and its shaft, by a strain on the chain attached to the slide N, whereby the cam R is turned so as' to be'out of contact with the levers O" O", leaving them propped apart by the dog u u until the lips of the jaws have nearly reached the comb and have received between them the bristles presented by the action of the comb and gaug'e`plates. At this point in the movement of the machine, a lever, n, on the'shaft t", comes in contact with a stud or post, S,-causing the dog u u to be turned so that it is disengaged from the levers lO and thc'jaws are closed with a snap upon the `bristles between them bythe action of the springs s 8; the tumbler t (see iig. 8) having by this time disconnected itself from the bar t' so as to allow the dog to be moved independentlyof the shaft P. j The forward movement of the jaws toward the comb takes Aplace during the'time that the comb and gauge-plates are at rest 'in front of the endless apron, and while the blank space of the segment-gear H is passing, without driving, the

pinion z. yExtending across and below the space traversed by the jaws O, is a moving platform composed of a number of parallel endless cords or belts w w, revolving around drums or cylinders T T', which are grooved so Ithat the cords may be kept atia proper and uniform distance apart. Motion is communicated tothe platform by means ofa stud, w', on the face of the spur-gear C", which, asY the gear revolves, comes incontact with one of the radial arms on the end of the shaft of the drum T, and causes-it to revolve intermitting'ly. The movementl is effected at the time when the jaws' have receded fully from the comb, and have opened,` and just before they commence their return towards the comb, (fig. 5..) AOn the shaft B, and revolving with it, is a grooved cam,'U,

which receives a stud on'the horizontal lever and gives lateral vibration to it. The arrangement is shown v partly in g. l, and more distinctly in the elevation, fig. 7,*and plan ofthe same, iig. 8. The lever U is con nected by a rod with another lever, U", vibrating in a vertical plane, on a joint in the lower part of theframework A, and extending upwards between the slides V V, firmly secured to and extending across the frame AA, under the moving platform lu: w. A plate, having hooks or lingers :c x extending up between and above the cords of the platform, is made by thn lever U to traverse along'the slidesVVfi-om the driven end of the\platform to the other end` and-return while theniovement of the platform itself is going on. The hooks or fingers x71." sweep the bristles which have just been deposited by the now open jaws upon the platform towards the deposit-box W, which receives by they movement of the platform those bristles which have been swept along by a previous movement of the fingers x 11:. The deposit-box is covered by an endless apron, W', which moves simultaneously with thc platform w w, being connected therewith by cord and pulleys w'w; and nids the onward movement of the bristles after being gathered Atowards the box. The sidcs of the box W are thin enough to have a slight l vibratory motion given them for the purpose of gently striking the bristles endwise so as to bring their ends as near as may be into the same vertical plane. This is effected in the following manner: Onthe outer extremity ofthe shaft o is a ratchet-cani,"Y, givinginotion in opposite directions at the' same'timc to two rods y y, each of which .slidesV in permanent bearings near its ends, and is kept in contact with lthe cam by springs orl equivalent devices.` These rods havo caeha stnd,ly, so fixed that one stud shall be made to strike one side of the box W and theothcr stud shall strikevthe other side, which, being repeated rapidly by the action of the cam Y, produces a tremnlous'rmotion endwise of the bristles-in thc box and'causes them to become arranged uniformly. l I

The'operation of this machine is as follows: The tangled, irregular, .matted mass of bristle is loosened or spread a. iittlc by the hand and laid upon the apron E. Motion being given to the main driving-shaft- B, the operation is commenced by the revolution of i thc feed-rollers and endless-apron E, which carry t-he bristlesby a rcgularmevement to be operated on by the teeth of the picker or hatchel o n lche `shaft F, when they willv fall upon the. lower apron E', which they will reach in a looser and more regular condition than when irstfed to the machine. The apron and roller E e will now,'by their intermittent movement, have presented somcbristles for the action of the comb J.. This makes two/revolutions, by means of the shaft g, consecutively, while the main shaft B makes two-thirds of a revolution, passing,` cach time, near the apron and roller E and e and combing those bristles which had been forced out from between them. vDuring the other third of the revolution of themain shaft the comb J is at rest in the position shown in g. 4, with its teeth separating the ends of thc bristles just combed, and. which project through between the comb teeth, while the gauge-plates M and-lc press upon the bristles'below and above and `keep them in a proper and parallel posit-ion to be'seized by the jaws' O O. This is done at the close of the last-named third par't of the revolution of the'shaft B, and is elfected by the turning of the dogs l u u, as hereinbefore described. About the time that this closing of the jaws takes place the apron and roller E e are moved so as .to push the bristles as far as may be .into the jaws O and bring forward other bristles y to be operated on by the comb, while the jaws are being retracted, dragging the bristles they hold out from between the teeth of the comb and the gauge-plates M 7c untilvthe jaws are-far enough back to be opened by the cam R on the shaft P and drop their charge on the platform w w. While this is being performed thel lower gauge-plate M has dropped down, its rock-shaft L being relieved from pressure by the stud 'n on the spur-gear D, and the comb'is-carried twice down.v through the bristles again presented by the apron and Y, roller E e', when it again comes to a rest, as 'shown in g. 4, and awa-its the return of the jaws. When the jaws are openedithey allow the bristles to fall upon the cords of] the platform 'w w so as to lie across it and parallel with each other and b e immediately swept towards the deposit-box W by the fingers xaz, which return to their position before the jaws commence their movement again" towards the comb. This quick action of the ngers as. as is effected, as before described, by-,the cam U and horizontal and vertical levers U U.v The platform andendless apron over the box have made their movement in the same time as the lingers x ai', and have carried into' the box W those bristles which were swept' towards it by a former action of the fingers wf x. The jawsnow again move towards theA comb, and the' operation is repeated for every revolution of the main shaft B; and as fast as the bristles are collected in the deposit-box W and shaken into uniformity of ends they can be taken away in bundles by hand-or carried by machinery to be assorted into lengths and placed with their buts and ilags each in one direction. It should be observed that the cams m m on the shaftg and crank-wrist I are brought in contact with the arms k k of the gange-platc k as soon as the comb-teeth have swung out far venough from the apron and roller E e to he clear of the bristles held by them,vso that the gauge-plate shall force ont lfrom between the teeth anything which it is not desirable to retain. This is done at every revolution of the comb, the gauge-plate k resuming its proper position by the action of the spring .l as soon as the camsr m m have passed the arms c k. v r I intend that my machine shall be connected, by endless cords, belts, aprons, or any equivalent devices, with the machines for comhinggand for separating bristles, for which Letters Patent of the United States were grantedv to me under dates of February 20, 1 866, and April 17, 1866, as shown on sheet No. 3 of the drawings hereunto attached, where n, i

Figure 9 is the herewithin described machine Figure 10 is the comber; and l Figure 11 is the-separator.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- I A 1. The' endless'apron and feed-roller E e, with the picker F', on the shaft F, having a contimious motion, as described, in combination with the intermitting ondlessapron and feed-roller E' c', operatedsubstantially as herein set forth for the 'purpose described.

2. The comb J', with its appurtenances, consisting of the comb-stock and teeth, stem J', gauge-plate k, arms cf-and spring l, all combined substantially. as an'd for the purpose set forth.

3. 'lhe manner of operating the comb J, by means of the shaft g and erank-wrist I, in combination with the sliding stem J and its socket, and with the adjiistable joint K, and cams m m, substantially as set forth; and this I claim, whether the intermittent motion of theeomb be derived from the action of the segment H, in the pinion z, or from any equivalent device.

4. The comb J and its appurtenances, in combination with the gauge-plate M, operated by means of the rock-shaft L, stud n, and toe n', or their equivalents, substantially as and for the purpose hereinbefore set forth.

5. The jaws O, furnished with one or two yielding lips, and the levers O O, in combination with the cam R and springs s, and either with or without the toggle-joint levers q g, all combined with and operating by means of the windlass P', and chains, or any equivalent device, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The dogs 1t u, on the shaft t, in combination with and operated by the tumbler t, slotted bar t', and lever v, or its equivalent, substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.

A 7. The endless platform w w, arranged substantially as described, and having an intermittent motion, in combination with theendless apron W', over Ithe deposit-box W, for the purpose set forth.

8. The sweeping ngers'z z', operating as set forth, and by means substantially asvdescribed, in combination with themoving platform w w. I

9. I claim the cam Y, rods yy, and studs y y', when combined substantially as herein described, for the purpose of giving a tremulous lateral movement to the sides of the box W, for the object set forth.

10. I claim the combination of the jaws o with the comb J and the endless apron and feed-roller E e', each with their several appurtenances arranged'and operating substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

NATHAN H. SPAFFORD.

Witnesses:

JAMES WEBB, TOMAS WxcKs. 

